Protesters take chilly Baltic cruise
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Six Greenpeace activists yesterday boarded the Happy Ranger, a cargo ship transporting steam generators from France to the Areva EPR under construction at the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant in Finland.
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The inhospitable deck of the Happy Ranger (Image: Greenpeace Finland)
Six Greenpeace activists are braving harsh conditions on the deck of the Happy Ranger, a cargo ship transporting steam generators to Olkiluoto for use in the Areva EPR under construction.
The surprise boarding was peaceful and did not disturb the passage of the vessel. The ship's captain subsequently agreed to allow the protesters to remain on board if they stayed in a visible location on deck.
Blogging from the ship, activist Lauri Myllyvirta wrote: "During the night, we have sailed around the southern tip of Sweden and are now heading north towards Finland. The night on the deck of the ship can be best described by one term: 8 degree water."
"It was raining lightly all night and water was flowing on all the structures and making everything wet. When I was woken up for my watch at 4 am, I had a litre of water in my sleeping bag."
Areva spokesman Jacques-Emmanuel Saulnier commented: "If Greenpeace wants to find out more about steam generators, it doesn't need to show off like this - the doors of the Chalon Saint-Marcel plant are wide open for it to come and see how these reactor components are made."
The protestors intend to stay on deck for the remaining 40 hours of the Happy Ranger's journey.
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